ARRI announced that it will include ProRes 3.2K in a software update scheduled for release early next year. ProRes 3.2K – a new recording format for its Alexa cameras – allows the same easy up- sampling in post to UHD deliverables as ARRIRAW Open Gate does for 4K.
“Designed from the outset to be adaptable and future-proof, Alexa can easily accommodate productions that choose to follow a UHD or 4K workflow,” said Alexa product manager Marc Shipman-Mueller. “The camera’s stellar overall image quality in combination with ProRes 3.2K or ARRIRAW Open Gate allows for simple up-sampling to UHD or 4K in a quality at least as good as other contenders. And because of their unequaled exposure latitude and highlight handling, Alexa images are already uniquely HDR compatible.”
At data rates far below uncompressed ARRIRAW, ProRes 3.2K provides the benefits of the well-established ProRes workflow. As an additional benefit, most lenses fully cover the 3.2K image circle that results from the 16:9 ProRes 3.2K image. A straightforward up-sample from ProRes 3.2K using standard post tools delivers UHD images.
Many high-profile movies have been shot in ARRIRAW 2.8K and up-sampled to a 4K DCP, an example being the last James Bond film, Skyfall. To further improve upon this option, ARRI introduced the ARRIRAW Open Gate recording format for Alexa XT cameras earlier this year. Open Gate records the full 3.4K Alexa XT sensor area for an optimal up-sample in post to a 4K DCP.
Open Gate has been used on numerous productions, including Warcraft, San Andreas, Pixels, Goosebumps and Sicario, the latest movie lensed by Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC. Other feature films are shooting ARRIRAW 16:9 or ARRIRAW 4:3 and using Open Gate selectively for VFX shots, including Terminator: Genesis, Fantastic 4, Agent 47 and Deus Ex Machina.
